Re-watching 'The O.C.' 10 years later

Sofia Ağustos 13, 2021

Last year was the 10th year anniversary of the premiere of 'The O.C.' on TV and while i watched it back then and loved it (i got so excited every time i watched the opening theme with Phantom Planet's Californiaaa), but it's not a show i ever re-watched again. So, last year around Christmas, and with no other shows to watch, i gave it a try so, and for its 10th anniversary, let's remember why 'The O.C.' is still a fans' favourite and why for many it's better than 'Gossip Girl' (both shows produced by Josh Schwartz). Let's begin!

Welcome to the O.C. bitch!

Best

The first season - Everything happened during that first season (it had 27 episodes, no less) and it was cool to see an outsider like Ryan get into the lives of the rich and fabulous of Newport. It also was a show where the parents' tangles and dramas were not boring, but very relevant to the plot, so points for that. Also, this show as a whole, had the ability to really go backwards and make memorable scenes out of details like places (the model home, the lifeguard house on the beach...), songs or people. And that was really cool.

Seth Cohen - Who didn't love the awkward, quirky, comic book lover Seth Cohen? Sure he was self-absorbed and didn't understand his choices some times (the pot story, really Cohen?) But his sense of humour and the use of irony was always on point and such a refreshment to have a character like that and not just a pretty face or the average nerd.

Summer Roberts - It's hard to believe that at first her character was going to appear only for a few episodes but gladly, Josh Schwartz liked Rachel Bilson so much that they made her a regular. And even the unexpected happened when the audience liked Summer more than Marissa, the actual protagonist. That's something that also happened in 'Gossip Girl' with Blair getting more attention than Serena. Anyway, Summer was fun, superficial and loved shopping, tanning and celebrity gossip and she was overall cute. Of course people liked her more than Marissa.

Seth and Summer - They weres the show's couple, no matter how hard they tried to make Ryan and Marissa something special. I mean, they were, but everyone cared more about Seth and Summer. Anyway, they were cute, fun and a really great match, i liked how infatuated Seth was by her even when they were kids and how they ended up together, the popular girl with the nerd. I didn't like that much, though, them getting married at the end, like, with this producer there's always a wedding (or two) at the end of his shows and there was no need. Maybe that was for a younger audience but it simply looked so forced. Still Seth and Summer were cute always no matter what.

Marissa Cooper - I nearly put her in the 'So, so' category but Marissa Cooper deserved more than that. Sure she was really annoying always having a male friend in need that ended up falling in love with her (Oliver, Johnny, Volchok...) but all Marissa drama except for that was cool. I liked how she turned into alcoholism over her family issues with her dad going to prison and her mom divorcing him for that, not to mention her mother hooking up with her ex and doing anything possible to keep her away from Ryan. One had to feel sorry for the Coop, because she had it tough. It was really sad when once she finally got herself together she had the car accident and got killed. But that was because Mischa Barton wanted out of the show to pursue her acting career and see how well that went. Anyway, she was necessary on the show and her and Summer gave me a massive hair envy.

Julie Cooper-Nichols - This was parenting done wrong but it was fun to watch. At first she was all cold and manipulative but once they made her funny, you grew to like her more. Her friendship with Kiki was actually really nice and i liked the couple she made with Doctor Roberts (Summer's dad) and kinda hoped she would stay with the Bullit, but it was nice that in the end she chose not to stay with anyone and made a future for her and the Mini Coop.

Anna - This character stayed and left and returned when it was needed. Everyone loved seeing Anna and Seth together though also everyone wanted him with Summer, but it was sad when she left. But there was no room for Anna and Seth though it was nice to see them reunited in the second season and remain good friends.

Mini-Coop - Kaitlin was really a fresh air towards the end of the second season, because who remembered that Marissa's little sister was sent to boarding school? (fun fact, the first Kaitlin on the show was played by Shailene Woodley). It was cool to see the next generation of teens in Newport with her becoming friends with Luke's twin brothers and some special guest stars like her boarding school roommate (none other than Lucy Hale from 'Pretty Little Liars') as well as some school drama with Hannah and Mona from PLL too (Ashley Benson and Janel Parrish).

Seth and Ryan - These friendship was really cute, it had its ups and downs and sure Seth only wanted to talk about himself most of the times but they became like family, they were brothers. And they were never boring together.

Music - The music from the show was really something else, it discovered some really great bands and songs that are impossible to relate to anything else but the series and they were always on point. The soundtrack really became another character and they wisely used the same songs to evoke an specific event and that was something that i loved. There were great bands like Death Cab For Cutie, Rooney, The Killers, Radiohead and many more so i made a playlist with my favourites here, so take a listen but this one has to be my fave:

So, so

Ryan and Marissa - They tried to make them happen wayyy too many times. I liked them together, but there was always someone getting in between them (Oliver, Trey, Johnny...) so they ruined their storyline. Still, i would have loved that they would had ended up together before the end of the second season but well, they were fatal like that.

Ryan - It's not that he was boring, but he was boring. He didn't have the charisma to be a lead protagonist and his background family story was not interesting (except for her mom, who turned out to be all cute when all sobered up). And it was nice that the Cohens adopted him and he eventually had a future instead of ending up being a convict on the streets like his brother. Apart from that he was pretty much bleh.

Luke - The definition of a tool though he later became agreeable after his dad came out and Marissa's break up, despite eventually hooking up with Julie Cooper. But his quirky side, becoming friends with Ryan, Marissa, Seth and Summer was something cool. Of course, there wasn't much future for him in the show apart from that but let's not forget his stellar phrase: "Welcome to the O.C. bitch!"

Taylor Towsend - Another character that turned out to be a breeze of fresh air for the show. Sure she was a little bit annoying but in a cute way and her pairing with Ryan didn't completely suck.

The third season - It was the worst of all three seasons for sure but the first half was pretty decent, with all the characters grieving for the death of Marissa. Like, no one was the same after the car crash. It also worked to have Summer away in college, many teen shows decay when their protagonists leave high school, but here it was fine (even though Ryan, Seth and Taylor stayed in Newport). And it was also cool to see Kaitlin ruling high school (or trying to). But the second half of the season was boring, with Ryan's daddy drama and the presence of Che in general. But i really liked the Chrismukkah episode in this season the best, when Ryan and Taylor fall from the ladder and while in a coma, revisit what would Newport be like if Ryan hadn't been in their lives. The moment of him waiting for Marissa at the airport and discovering that it was in fact Kaitlin and that Marissa had originally died three years ago when she overdosed in Mexico was something really well played by the writers. If Ryan hadn't been there, she would have died sooner so that was emotional to watch. A personal favourite.

Worst

Oliver, Johnny, Trey - Seriously, any guy interested in Marissa Cooper. It followed always the same pattern, a guy who was in need and that, of course, Marissa had to take care of them, one per season. First Oliver, who was really a pain in the ass, the typical storyline of a psycho obsessed with the girl of the show, and it was so obvious that you could tell what would end up happening. After that, it was Trey in the second season, another one falling in love with her and eventually trying to force her. And finally Johnny, fucking Johnny, probably the worst out of the three. This one was so needy and useless for the show, it felt like if they extended his storyline more than they should have. I'm not the only one that was happy when he died, no joke.

Volchok - Volchok was the excuse the show needed to kill Marissa Cooper and it didn't make sense that he chased her on the car so frantically (ok he was on coke, but still). Another guy obsessed with Marissa but this time, she wanted to be with him at first, for a change.

Che - Another character that shouldn't have stayed for that long. Everything he did was silly and it seemed like they had to put Chris Pratt in almost all season because of his contract or something because they kept trying to make him happen but he didn't.

Chris Brown - Because he's Chris Brown and we hate him. And also, because his story with Kaitlin ended up so all of a sudden that it made no sense to even starting it in the first place.

Theresa - She was fucking annoying in the first two seasons, with all her drama from Chino and her deadbeat boyfriend. But she was nice to Marissa at one point and in the third season she was more likeable when she got all her shit together and her baby wasn't Ryan's. I even would have liked if she had stayed with him but well, i preferred Taylor over her.

The finale - It sucked. Because who really wanted a wedding between Seth and Summer, it seemed so forced (not to mention Rachel Bilson and Adam Brody had just split up and it looked awkward as fuck). About the rest, well it was nice that Ryan ended up being and architect like he wanted and the ending scene was cool with him meeting a boy lost in the streets. But other than that, i didn't like it as much, it was not up to how good the show had been.

So overall, what show was better, 'The O.C.' or 'Gossip Girl'? I think 'The O.C.' was good for a longer period of time than GG, because the first two seasons were really great. But at the same time, 'Gossip Girl's first season was absolutely flawless so nothing tops that. So it's a tie because i really can't decide and i have a soft spot for GG. So, which one was better for you, OC or GG? Discuss!